This course traces the history of women in Latin America from the late colonial era to the present. Women's lives in Latin America challenge many common assumptions about gender learned in the United States. Latin America is a region where patriarchal legal systems exist alongside economic enclaves owned and operated almost completely by women. Our goal will be to map out the differences between and commonalities among Latin American womens' lives and understand how these lives changed over time. Our exploration of the question of change leads us to examine as well the major political, economic, and social trends in Latin American history, asking how women's choices contributed to them, as well as how women's lives were affected by them. For history majors and minors, this is designated a World History course.